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...because all the best garden advice is local

August 8, 2013
Carson, near the water garden of V's sister
In a Kansas Garden
Greetings! 

     

I write so much about my Iowa garden, so let me tell you about my sister's beautiful Kansas garden.

   Debbie and her husband, Bob, built a pretty house just outside Lindsborg. To the west is what I teasingly call their subdivision's "fake lake." (I'm just jealous!) To the east is an endless stretch of field that one year was planted in nothing but sunflowers. 

   Pictured here is my niece's adorable son, Carson, enjoying the water garden that Debbie's son, Roy, recently rebuilt.

   A friend of mine once sat on a bench in my garden and sighed, "You must find this the most relaxing place on the planet."

   Not at all! When I'm in my garden, all I see is weeds to pull and plants to water. But when I'm sitting back in a big wicker chair on my sister's patio, drink in hand, it is truly a place where I can put my mind at rest and enjoy everything and everyone around me.

 

Happy Garden Visiting!

Veronica Lorson Fowler

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link to video of deadheading

Deadhead Those Daylilies 


I have a ton of daylilies in my garden. They're spectacular in July, but come August, they need deadheading to look their best. 

   Just trim off the spent stalk. Be sure to get all the way down at the base--otherwise the stub turns brown and looks like heck.

   While you're at it, rake your hands through the leaves to remove those that have turned brown.

 

Click here for a video I made on how to do it!

 
Cool Tool Alert  fiskars snippers  

A few years ago I bought some pruning snips.The garden center clerk promised me that I would wonder how I ever did without them. Well, not quite, but I do really like having them on hand.

   When I'm doing finer work, like the deadheading daylilies, they're perfect--strong enough to snip woody stems but accurate enough that I don't take the leaves out, too.

   They're also great for those smaller deadheading and trimming tasks, like when I want to snip off just a few faded roses in cluster-type roses. (I've tried scissors, but they're not quite sturdy enough and I end up ruining them, too.) Pruning snips also have a spring in them that pops back open after every cut, preventing my hand from fatiguing.

   Think of them as the manicure scissors of gardening tools!

   They're available in most better-stocked garden centers, and certainly online. Click here for a pair I found on Amazon for $10.90 (free shipping with orders over $25).

 
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hose in a flower bed to wet soil prior to weedingWater Before You Start Weeding

 

The more I weed, the more I realize that unless the ground is soft and I can get the roots and all, I'm wasting my time. Those *#@! weeds will just come back, as strong as ever.

     So following my own advice, I (almost) always water well before a weeding session in a particular area. Even if it's just a small spot, I get the hose out and let it flood the area. Then I let it percolate down for an hour or two. It makes weeding faster, more efficient, and simply less frustrating! 

 

Click here for more tips on weeding more efficiently.  

Issue: 85

Monthly To-Do

 

 Water, water, water. Don't allow plants to get more than very slightly wilted or you'll stress them and invite pests and disease. 

 

 Don't let the August garden get you discouraged. Heat and drought can make a garden look ratty-looking, but even 15 or 20 minutes of weeding, cutting back, deadheading, mulching, and watering can make a huge difference.

 

 Harvest early and often for the most tender, sweetest produce and to keep plants producing well. 

 

 Great late summer flower garden perk-up tip: Buy a hanging basket of annuals, often deeply discounted this time of year. Dig a hole in a bare or problem spot in a flower bed and plant the flowers directly in the flower bed. The spreading stems hide a lot of sins. You can even plant the pot and all--just be sure to keep it well-watered.

 

 Harvest tomatoes when they're about halfway red. Bring them indoors (away from insects) to finish ripening indoors on a countertop. They'll still have that great, full home-grown tomato flavor!

 

 Get a plant-by-plant breakdown of what produce to harvest when by clicking here.

 

 Annual flowers can be the star of the August garden. Keep them well watered, deadheaded, and well fertilized (apply a granular or liquid all-purpose fertilizer according to package directions).

 

 Deadhead flowers on annuals, perennials, and some shrubs. It keeps your garden more attractive and in many cases, it will encourage more flowers. Check out our videos on deadheading different kinds of flowers by clicking here.

 

 Avoid planting, transplanting, or dividing anything other than a tree or shrub right now. It's so hot that smaller plants will struggle. It's best to wait for cooler weather.

 

 Spring-blooming bulbs such as tulips and daffodils will start showing up in stores soon. Ignore those discount, great-priced bulbs you see at the box stores, supermarkets, and elsewhere. They are almost always undersized and won't bloom well, if at all. Instead, bite the bullet and go to a good garden center or order online from a quality bulb retailer. (Again, avoid the cheapies.) With bulbs, you get what you pay for. 

Editor's Choice 
Garden Events  
 
Saturday and Sunday, September 14-15
Rural Madrid
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.A great annual event! Peruse a selection of irises, peonies, and other Iowa-proven perennials at this fund-raiser sale. Click on the link above to see the cultivars lined up so far.
 

Garden Quote  

 

"Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in and  around your lettuce and green beans."


-American educator, author, and clergyman

Henry Van Dyke